04-11-2008, 10:48 AM
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Quoted from deep in the thread:
Quote:
Here is a link to a post on Best kite forum concerning some details of this accident.
Does anyone have any other details...or corrections to the description presented here?
http://forum.bestkiteboarding.com/viewt ... 7ac9997f95
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Here is what was stated:
""I have spoken with the 4 people involved in the accident in Texas, but did not see the accident myself. No one investigating this accident has come to a firm conclusion as to what actually occurred. A medical condition is just as likely the reason for the initiation of the incident as other theories such as (1) a fall in shallow water, (2) operator error in reversing the safety leash (3) an interrupted self-rescue. A good deal of speculation and misleading information has resulted.
I was told by the rescuer who heroically downed the kite, which had looped over a hundred times over a distance of a kilometer, that the kite safety leash was indeed reversed, which resulted in the slide release being out of reach of the kiter. It is likely that this fact had no bearing on the fatal result of the incident, in that an unconscious kiter would have drowned in the incident regardless.
Another fact that was relayed to me was that the kite was a 2007 true Bow kite from one of the top manufacturers, and that there was no apparent equipment failure detected.
The safety was connected to the line system, not by a rear OS loop, but by the standard front line ring-to-open-gated-carabiner method. None of the other lines were snagged in the carabiner.
When the victim was finally detained, it was noted that the chicken loop was not in the victim's spreader bar hook, and also noted that the chicken loop release had not been activated. The victim had apparently unhooked the chicken loop without activating the release.
It was also noted that a centerline appeared to be wrapped around the end of the bar, but it was not noted which of the 2 center lines. There was other line tangling evidence in the area of the bar, which gave rise to a theory that the kiter may have been in the process of self-rescuing, when an unintended relaunch of the kite occurred initiating the dragging incident. It is just as likely that some other factor caused the lines to be tangled around the bar.
Another theory that is based on the fact that the board was found not far from shallow water (the wind was mostly off-shore), proposes that the inexperienced kiter outran the kite and slacked his lines at the same time his board jammed into the bottom, throwing him into his bar and lines, at which time the lines got wrapped around the bar, and the kite relaunched. The kiter could have been knocked out or stunned by hitting the bottom.
The kiter had 9 hours of lessons, previous to the accident and was at the stage where most people would be practicing on there own.
I was told that the wind was not excessively high or gusty for an 11 meter bow kite, which the victim was using.
One of the rescuers, who was kiting at the time and was able to follow fairly close to the victim, noted that the victim's eyes were open, but could draw no firm conclusion as to whether or not the victim was actually looking at him.
No one was looking at the kiter when the incident began.
I have gotten two accounts of the rider's ability. One witness said that the kiter could go out and back, but could not turn. The other witness said that he thought the kiter was able to ride under pretty good control.
The victim was said to be a very pleasant and intelligent design engineer who was contracting with NASA.
Without a medical report which most likely would occur if released by a relative in his native country of Poland, we are left with a very unsatisfying analysis of what actually occurred in this tragedy.
Discussing and analyzing hypothetical situations may be of some value in arriving at safety and rescue tips, in cases like this, but the truth may never be known in this specific incident.
The rescuers did an admirable job, and at the time, were devoting their full energy to trying to save a life, dealing with such details as (1) how to lift the body up onto the jet-ski (it is not a one person task in 5 foot deep water), (2) how to initiate cardiac compressions and ventilation, (3) how to keep lines from fouling the intake of the jet-ski, (4) where to take the victim for treatment, (5) how to secure the body so that water would drain out of the lungs. The lines were therefore wound up in a hurry in an effort to speed up the rescue and were jammed out of the way, so as not to get sucked into the jet pump. The rescuers were focused on the future of the victim and not on analyzing the past. At this time and under these circumstances, it would have been negligent and detrimental to the life-saving effort to devote time to the investigation of the cause of this accident. Only after the victim was in the hands of the EMT and helicopter crew was it proper for the shaken rescuers to devote any time and energy to the analysis of this incident. I think that studies have shown that traumatic memory is not completely dependable, and that shocked recall can be suspect where details are concerned.""
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